Under the Maple Boughs in Summer Hair Gloss

[Casablanca]

Maple leaves, ti leaf, pine needles, cedar, and soft mosses.

Red maple!

 

This skin test takes me right back to October Dusk bath oil, but without the sweet honey. There is still a sweetness in this, like a maple-syrup sweetness, but it's quieter. Other trees are just perceptible through the maples, and there's a hint of smoke in this forest air, but a sort of maple wood-syrup-russet leaf smell dominates. While I can pick out subdued mosses, like mosses in the shadows of trees, this mostly feels like warm red woody-sweet leaves.

 

This really puts autumn in my mind. It's beautiful, so I might wear this one day, and then cellar it until fall!

[lizabelle]

Oh my goodness, this maple note! It smells like leaves, but less, well, dead than the dead leaf scents. There's definitely a hint of syrup here, too, and I smell the ti prominently. The cedar, pine, and mosses are much softer, with cedar being the most prominent of those but still staying in the background. They give it a lovely earthiness, but there's sweetness too; upon first sniff I almost thought I smelled chocolate. Right now I've paired it with the Dark Chocolate/Whiskey/Caramel/Cardamom truffle from this year and they blend surprisingly well.

 

ETA: This is by far the longest-lasting hair gloss I've tried. More than 24 hours later I can still smell it! This has happened twice now, so it's definitely not a fluke. After about the 6 hour mark it settles into maple sugar and stays there for ages. Gorgeous.

Edited March 28, 2017 by lizabelle

[Sateki]

I was a little nervous when I first smelled the bottle, because holy maple syrup! But when I sprayed it on my hands and rubbed it through my hair, I began to smell the complexities of it. There is definitely a strong maple syrup smell, but it's not overly sweet. Under it I can definitely smell the moss and woodiness. It's like a warm, foresty walk. It's not a foody scent, despite the strong maple. It's well balanced and beautiful. I shower at night and by the end of the next day it's mostly gone. Just in time for me to shower and reapply!

[zankoku_zen]

Maple, leaves, and cedar. mr. zee_zee really enjoyed this, saying it smelled like maple syrup. Lovely.

[Juliamon]

I received a decant of this as a surprise and became worried when I looked it up and saw it had cedar as I'm not fond of that particular wood. Fortunately for me it's only noticeable upon first spritz, and disappears into the leaves and moss fairly quickly. The scent that lingers is that of maple syrup; not fresh from the bottle but rather of a sugarhouse, the sap still being cooked down and not quite ready for consumption yet. A beautiful late-summer/early-autumn scent that reminds me of childhood weekends in super-rural Vermont.

[SoundlessEchoes]

I snagged this off Etsy recently - my first hair gloss! There's less any distinctive notes than a general autumnal forest scent. I've been applying by a squirt or two on my palms worked through my hair, and the primary note is definitely the maple leaves/maple sugar note. I'd definitely say sugar or sap, not syrup, as it seems too light and airy for maple syrup, but it's definitely maple in origin. It's not a super-strong scent, although it clings to my palms, and I tend to get little wafts of sweet-vague-autumn-forest for hours. Expect mostly sweet maple and a touch of deciduous woods under.